Have you had experiences with the Big think at the end of a learning unit that helps learners explore both the collaobrative intelligence of what they know, but also the metacognitive journey in getting there? Add your comments below.
I may be way off, but the Big Think described in the chapter sounds vaguely similar to the planning process used in our building as a way of making sure that teachers and presentors stay on target when planning lessons and strategies. We use a reverse planning process that narrows our focus from a 40 week target or goal (long-term target), to a 40 day target (unit plan) , and 40 minute target (daily plan), with each step focusing on the skills needed to build to an overall understanding and use of the subject matter. The unit plans require the backward look at what they have covered and where they are headed, while building on the specific learning target covered on a daily basis.
I understand that this is a process used primarily by the students, and I'm talking about the teachers' use. At the same time, the students are involved in working through the evaluative process.
Others please respond and help me clarify if I am totally misreading the "metacognitive journey" piece. Thanks.
Comments (2)
lspear@ghchs.com said
at 12:24 pm on Aug 5, 2008
I have only been in the country for two years so I had never heard of the Big Think until I started taking library information science classes. One of the things I was considering was trying to incorporate the Big Think into the senior project. I sent the link with an invitation to register to all staff and added the link to the VLC. I know that the senior projects are self-generated. Last year, very little was done to link library services to the senior project and I think that maybe starting with brainstorming on the Big Think during first term would help students focus on a topic that interests them and allow them to really contribute to the process. At this time, the senior project seems so content driven and probably students don’t even think about it until maybe the April prior to graduation.
(account deleted) said
at 1:36 pm on Jul 14, 2008
I had a bit of experience with this this last year. Our school has inclusion teams to group students with special needs into general ed classes. They are placed in classes where they have two teachers, assignments are modified to fit a variety of special needs, and a variety of final products were explored throughout the year. A unit the students worked on at the end of the year required them to research a celestial body. Once they gathered their information, they got together all their possible final product choices based on what they had done during other projects earlier in the year. Groups then made their decisions about what they would create to demonstrate their knowledge based on what worked best for them as learners. They then created the product for their own audience (third graders) and would teach it to them. All the learning process was documented because we had received grant money for this inclusion model. The students ended the unit with a clearer idea of how best they learned, and had a good sense that their knowledge had purpose. It was a great experience.
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